Pages

Monday, August 6, 2018

Vikings safety Anthony Harris had one main goal this offseason -- add more weight. Find out how he transformed his body in the weight room.

Updated: August 6, 2018, 1:20 p.m.

By: Daniel House

Every player has goals they want to accomplish in the
offseason. For Vikings’ safety Anthony Harris, it all started in a Richmond,
Va. weight room.

Since arriving in Minnesota, Harris has been consistently
adding weight and evolving physically. The converted safety entered the league
weighing just 186 pounds. During the final stages of his college career at Virginia,
a torn labrum and hand injury kept Harris out of the weight room for a significant
period of time. This absence drastically impacted his physical growth and
routine.

When the Vikings added Harris via undrafted free agency in
2015, they knew it was just the beginning of his physical development.

It has taken the safety a few years to continue adding muscle
and overall explosiveness. Entering his fourth season with the Vikings, Harris
has added 19 pounds in just over three years. After easing back into the wright
room, he is beginning to notice the progress he has made.

“My meals and eating were a little off, so it took a little
while to adjust to that,” Harris said. “Just getting back in the weight room,
my main focus was just building strength and trying to get that explosiveness
back and then as the year went on and I was able to maintain that, that’s when
I was starting to put on size. Now I’ve gotten up to 205 since then.”

Harris spent the offseason training at Elkin Sports
Performance in his hometown of Richmond, Va. He not only focused on the physical
training, but nutritional planning. He tracked his calories and protein intake
to correlate with his workout schedule. Harris said gathering information is
the most important aspect of all physical transformations.

“I would say just gathering the information, mainly,” Harris
said. “Getting the right information about how much calories I need to take in,
the amount of protein, how many meals a day, getting that type of stuff.”

In conjunction with the planning, Harris worked with a
personal trainer to improve his speed, strength and explosiveness. All of those
areas are aided by the physical improvement Harris made a priority this
offseason.

“This offseason I just tried to continue improving all
around. Working on my speed, using my strength, trying to put on a little more
weight this year, so I could be more durable and a lot stronger and more
explosive.”

With all of his physical growth, it’s been easy to see
Harris’ improvement against the run in training camp. When in the box, he has
been making plays and blowing up runs on the edge. This disruptive presence is
something Harris has always emphasized, but the additional weight has helped
him become more effective in this role.

“That’s one thing I’ve tried to add this offseason is just
to get in the weight room more and just put on more weight so I can be even
more effective when it comes to the physicality in the box,” Harris said.

This is another valuable addition to Harris’ skill-set as he
strives to become more versatile. A core special teams player and reserve safety,
his impact is already quietly vital to the Vikings’ success. He has started
three games in the past two seasons in relief of starter Andrew Sendejo. Last
season, his forced fumble in a Week 11 game against the Los Angeles Rams was a
key play in an important game. He also made a pivotal run stop on third down in
the NFC Championship to set up the Minneapolis Miracle.

So how does a backup safety make sure he is ready in those
situations?

Harris said being a student of the game has him prepared for
every possible situation. Whether it’s being lined up correctly on special
teams or making an adjustment defensively, Harris is constantly processing what’s
in front of him. He notices tendencies in the film room and applies them on the
field.

“I’ve always been a pretty locked in guy. Not just in
practice, but in the meeting rooms,” Harris said. “So I think that allowed me
to be able to make a transition like that from taking more snaps on special
teams to suddenly jumping in on defense. Just mentally preparing and the physical
part is just there, so it’s just having your mind right, having the right
attitude and then going out there and being effective.”

Dating back to his college days at Virginia, Harris has
stressed the importance of learning not just his role, but the responsibilities
of everyone around him. It helped him notch 188 tackles and ten interceptions during
his final two collegiate seasons.

Now, after playing in Mike Zimmer’s defense for three full seasons,
Harris is starting to understand how the player next to him impacts his role.

“I think the mental aspect [of the game] has always been a
pretty strong suit of mine. Being able to pick up on things pretty fast and understanding
different concepts,” Harris said. “Once I was able to pick up on my responsibilities
in the defense, I was able to branch out a little bit more and learn what the
guys around me are doing and how I fit and then just putting that together
based upon how the plays develop.”

With Harris’ football IQ and improved physical frame, the
young safety could be turning the corner in his development as an NFL player. Starter Andrew Sendejo is in a contract year and Harris could be positioning himself well for a larger role.

However, no matter what happens, Harris isn't shifting away from the mentality he developed when entering the league.

“Come in and keep the level of energy up or raise the level
of energy whenever I’m called,” Harris said.